May Month Current Affairs

1) No Nobel Prize In Literature This YearThe Swedish Academy has decided to postpone the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, with the intention of awarding it in 2019. The decision has been taken in the wake of a sexual and financial scandal that has engulfed the Swedish Academy, the cultural institution responsible for awarding the prestigious prize.According to the Swedish Foundations Act, the Nobel Foundation is ultimately responsible for fulfilling the intentions in the will of Alfred Nobel. For the first time since 1949, the secretive jury will not unveil a winner this autumn.Kazuo Ishiguro was the winner of Nobel Prize 2017.

2) Google Grants $3 Million for e-Learning, Teachers in IndiaGoogle’s philanthropic arm Google.org has announced $3 million in grants for teacher training and educational content creation in India.The organisation committed $1 million to TheTeacherApp to help them reach 5,00,000 teachers in two years, besides a $2-million grant and technical assistance from YouTube to the Central Square Foundation.

3) Wimbledon Champions’ Prize Money Hiked by £50,000According to the Wimbledon officials, the 2018 men’s and women’s singles champions will receive £2.25 million, an increase of £50,000 on last year. Wimbledon Open is an annual British tennis tournament created in 1877 and is played in London, UK.

4) World Press Freedom Day: 3rd May

5) Hockey India Appoints Harendra Singh as Chief Coach of Men’s TeamHockey India has appointed Harendra Singh as coach of India’s men’s team, while Sjoerd Marijne will take over as chief coach of women’s side.

6) 14 Indian Cities Figure in World’s 20 Most Polluted Cities List: WHOAs per the data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 14 Indian cities figure in a list of world’s 20 most polluted cities in terms of particulate matter PM2.5 levels in 2016. The particulate matter PM2.5 includes pollutants like sulfate, nitrate and black carbon, which pose the greatest risk to human health.The WHO Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database ranked Kanpur as the most polluted city among 4300 world cities which were monitored for their air pollution levels in the year 2016. The other Indian cities that registered very high levels of PM2.5 pollutants were Faridabad, Varanasi, Gaya, Patna, Delhi, Lucknow, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur.

7) Vladimir Putin Sworn-In as Russian President for 4th termVladimir Putin was sworn-in as the President of Russia for the fourth time, renewing another six-year term in office

8) International Labour Day: 01 May

9) WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum Quits FacebookWhatsApp Co-founder and CEO Jan Koum has announced his resignation from the parent company Facebook. This comes shortly after a report claimed Koum would leave due to disagreements over data privacy and weakening encryption.Koum will also step down from Facebook’s Board of Directors, a position he took up when WhatsApp was bought for $19 billion by Facebook in 2014.

10) Swachh Bharat Mission Launches GOBAR-DHAN SchemeUnion Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti, launched the GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) – DHAN scheme at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Auditorium, Karnal, Haryana.*The scheme aims to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste*. The scheme also aims at creating new rural livelihood opportunities and enhancing income for farmers and other rural people.

11) General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army the Staff released the book ‘Across the Bench – Insight into the Indian Military Judicial System‘ by Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan, former Army Commander and Member ‘A’, Armed Forces Tribunal, Lucknow Bench.

12) SpaceX Launches Most Powerful Falcon 9 RocketThe California-based aerospace company, SpaceX has blasted off its most powerful Falcon 9 rocket, which is certified to carry humans to space later this year.

14) Indian Tea Industry Records Highest Ever Production, Export in FY18Indian tea industry has recorded the highest ever production as well as exports in FY18. The total tea production was 1325.05 million kgs, an increase of 74.56 million kgs as compared to 2016-17. In percentage terms, the increase is around 6%.

15) Walmart Buys Flipkart in World’s Largest e-Commerce DealUS-based retail giant Walmart has confirmed that it will buy 77% stake in India’s largest e-commerce startup Flipkart for $16 billion. Walmart bought the stake in Flipkart for 16 billion dollars

16) Forbes Most Powerful People In The World: PM Modi 9th, Xi Jinping TopsPrime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked ninth on Forbes’ 2018 list of ‘the world’s most powerful people’. Chinese President Xi Jinping ranked first, followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump at the second and third rank, respectively

17) FB Appoints Product Exec Chris Daniels to Take Over WhatsAppFacebook has announced that the company’s Vice President of Product Chris Daniels will be taking over Whatsapp after Co-founder Jan Koum announced his departure, recently.

18) USA Withdraws From Iran Nuclear DealPresident Donald Trump announced US withdrawal from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran. Mr Trump signed a fresh set of sanctions against Iran and warned countries against any cooperation with Tehran on its controversial nuclear weapons programme.According to the President, the deal gave Iran millions in cash and did not prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. The historic nuclear deal was reached in Vienna in July 2015 between Iran and the P5 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council) along with Germany and the European Union.

19) Bharti Airtel completes acquisition of Telenor IndiaThe government has approved the merger of the local unit of Norway’s Telenor with Bharti Airtel, clearing the last hurdle for the deal to go through. The Department of Telecom (DoT) had transferred all licences and liabilities of Telenor India to Bharti Airtel

21) BIMSTEC Meeting 2018 will be held by Nepal.Nepal’s PM, KP Oli has announced to host the 2018 Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation summit. BIMSTEC is an international organisation of 7 nations of South & South East Asia, including Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan & Nepal. BIMSTEC aims to enhance technological & economic cooperation among South & South East Asian countries.

22) Yahoo has launched its own new group chat app named Squirrel. Squirrel Group Chat App is still in testing. It is available on Google Play and the App Store. If you need to start using the app, you need a friend who already uses the app to invite you into a group. Squirrel focuses on group chats. It has features that enables you to organise conversations with several people.

23) Indore, India’s Cleanest City In Swachh Survekshan-2018As per the Swachh Survekshan-2018 results, Indore has once again emerged as the cleanliest city in India. Bhopal has been ranked 2nd and Chandigarh 3rd in the survey at the national level. The announcement was made in New Delhi by Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

24) BS Yeddyurappa Takes Oath as CM of KarnatakaThe Supreme Court refused to stay BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa’s swearing-in as Karnataka Chief Minister, paving the way for the formation of his government. He took the oath as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka.

25) Shashank Manohar to serve 2nd term as ICC chairmanFormer BCCI President Shashank Manohar will serve a second two-year term as the independent chairman of the International Cricket Council after he was elected unopposed by the governing body’s Board.

26) Tata Steel to Acquire Bhushan Steel Through its Step-Down Subsidiary Bamnipal SteelTata Steel, whose bid for debt-ridden Bhushan Steel was approved by NCLT, would implement the resolution plan through its step-down subsidiary Bamnipal Steel Ltd. Bamnipal Steel would invest in the debt-ridden company and acquire control on the closing date.

27) Russia Unveils World’s 1st Floating Nuclear Power StationRussia unveiled the world’s first floating nuclear power station at a ceremony in the port of the far northern city of Murmansk, where it will be loaded with nuclear fuel before heading to eastern Siberia. Built in Saint Petersburg, the Akademik Lomonosov arrived in Murmansk where it was moored in the port and presented to the media.

28) As per a report by Mercom Communications India, India emerged as the third largest solar market in the world in 2017 behind China and the US. In 2017, India set a new record with 9.6 GW of solar installations, which was more than double the 4.3 GW installed in 2016. On account of this stellar growth, India’s total solar installed capacity reached 19.6 GW as of December 2017. Out of the 19.6 GW installation, 92% is on account of large-scale project development.

29) State run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has distributed over 30 crore light emitting diode (LED) bulbs across country under zero-subsidy Unnati Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme.Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) Scheme: It is zero-subsidy scheme that aims promote efficient lighting, enhance awareness on using efficient equipment which reduce electricity bills and preserve environment. It is LED based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP).

30) International Day for Biological Diversity: 22 May

31) English Translation of Polish Novel ‘Flights’ Wins Man Booker PrizePolish author Olga Tokarczuk has won the Man Booker International Prize for her novel ‘Flights’. The novel, translated by Jennifer Croft, interweaves narratives of travel with explorations of the human body.

32) NYSE Names 1st Woman Chief in Exchange’s 226-year HistoryThe New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has promoted Stacey Cunningham to President, making her the first sole woman head of the 226-year-old exchange.

33) Venezuela’s President Maduro Wins Re-electionVenezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro was reelected for a second six-year term in presidential elections, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE).

35) PM Modi Laid Foundation Stone of India’s Longest Road Tunnel in J&KPrime Minister Narendra Modi is on a day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir. During his visit, Prime Minister laid down the foundation stone of ‘Zojila Tunnel’ on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway in Leh. The 14.2-kilometre long Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.

36) India Stands 44th In Competitive Rankings, USA Tops: ReportIndia rose one place to 44th this year in the global competitive rankings out of 63 countries that were ranked by the IMD World Competitiveness Center

37) AB de Villiers Retires From International CricketStar South African batsman AB de Villiers has announced his decision to retire from international cricket with immediate effect.The World Record for the fastest ODI 50 (16 balls), 100 (31 balls) and 150 (64 balls).

38) HD Kumaraswamy Took Oath as New Karnataka CMThe JD(S)-Congress coalition government head HD Kumaraswamy was sworn-in as the New Chief Minister of Karnataka. Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to Kumaraswamy

39) BJP leaders Ganeshi Lal and Kummanam Rajasekharan were appointed as Governors of Odisha and Mizoram, respectively.

40) Airtel Payments Bank Appoints Anubrata Biswas As MD and CEOAirtel Payments Bank has appointed Anubrata Biswas as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Biswas fills the position, which was lying vacant since end-December, after Shashi Arora quit the post.*Airtel Payments Bank was the first payments bank to start operations in India*

41) Nepal, 1st Country in South-East Asia to Eliminate Trachoma: WHOThe World Health Organization (WHO) declared Nepal as free from Trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.With this, Nepal becomes the first country in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to eliminate Trachoma. Trachoma was the second leading cause of preventable blindness in Nepal in the 1980s.

42) ASEAN India Film Festival was held in New Delhi from May 25 to 30, 2018.The film festival provided platform for people from film industries of respective member countries to explore areas of cooperation in domain of cinema and cultural cooperation.

45) Japan win Uber Cup to end 37-year droughtJapan’s women clinched the Uber Cup, breezing by surprise finalists Thailand 3-0 in Bangkok to end a 37-year wait to regain the title. With a team stacked with top-ranked players in both the singles and doubles, Japan made light work of the hosts, who entered the finals for the first time after stunning China in the semis.The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Team Championships for Women, is a major international badminton competition contested by women’s national badminton teams.

49) Scientists from University of Minnesota, US have discovered that chemical element ruthenium (Ru) is fourth element to have unique magnetic properties (ferromagnetism) at room temperature. So far only three periodic table elements Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), and Nickel (Ni) have been found to be ferromagnetic at room temperature.

50) Indian Oil Most Profitable PSU For 2nd Straight YearIndian Oil Corporation has emerged as India’s most profitable state-owned company for the second consecutive year. Indian Oil posted a record profit of Rs21,346 crore in 2017-18, followed by ONGC, whose profit stood at Rs19,945 crore.Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is the most profitable company for the third straight year, posting highest ever profit of Rs36,075 crore.

51) Yuvraj Singh Awarded ‘Most Inspiring Icon Of The Year For Social Welfare’Indian star cricketer Yuvraj Singh has been awarded the ‘most inspiring icon of the year for Social Welfare’ award by the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) for his exemplary contribution in the field of social welfare.

52) Kamaljit Bawa 1st Indian to Receive Linnean MedalIndian botanist Kamaljit S. Bawa (president of Bengaluru-based non-profit Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) received the prestigious Linnean Medal in Botany from the Linnean Society of London.Dr. Bawa is the first Indian to win the award ever since it was first constituted in 1888

54) Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN-13 Begins in UttarakhandThe joint military exercise SURYA KIRAN-13 between India and Nepal began at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. The military exercise is a biannual event which is conducted alternatively in Nepal and India every six months.

55) World No Tobacco Day: 31 MayEvery year, on 31 May, World Health Organization and partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2018 is “Tobacco and heart disease.”

57) Indian skipper Virat Kohli has emerged as the International Cricketer of the Year at the CEAT Cricket Ratings awards, which were presented in Mumbai

58) Statehood Day of Goa: 30 MayGoa celebrates its Statehood Day as people’s demand for full statehood was attained on 30th May 1987, when Goa became India’s 25th state. Daman and Diu were separated from Goa and continue to be administered as a union territory.